Do you love those creamy, sweet, rich ice-blended drinks that most coffee houses offer on their menus these days? Who wouldn't, right? Do you grab one whenever you can?

I didn't think so!

First, as super busy moms, we don't quite have the extra time to meander over to the coffee house to relax with a beverage. (At least I don't.) And second, the ice-blended drinks they offer are usually overflowing with sugar or sugar substitutes, and are often a few hundred calories too many.

The answer: Make your own skinny iced mocha in just ten minutes. And make it with minimal sugar. Let's do it, shall we?

Skinny Ice Blended Mocha Recipe

Pure blended mocha perfection that you can make in your own kitchen!

By Valentina Kenney Wein

Published: July 2, 2014

Prep Time: 10 min

Servings: 1 to 2

Ingredients:

crushed ice: about 1½ cups

non-fat milk: ½ cup

mashed ripe bananas: ⅓ cup

pure vanilla extract: 1 teaspoon

cocoa powder: 1 tablespoon

instant espresso powder: 2 teaspoons

granulated sugar: 2 teaspoons

Directions:

Step 1: Place 1 to 2 glasses in the refrigerator to chill.

Step 2: In the order the ingredients are listed, add them to a powerful blender.

Step 3: Blend until the ice isn't detectable anymore and the mixture is totally smooth and creamy.

Step 4: Remove the glass or glasses from the refrigerator, pour the ice-blended drink, and serve immediately!

Valentina's passion is food, and she loves spending time in her "kitchen retreat," as she refers to that room in her house. Valentina develops recipes for creative and comforting food that works perfectly for casual entertaining. Both her recipes and food photography have been featured many times on popular food websites and in print. Valentina shares her beautiful photographs as well as new and interesting recipes almost daily on her blog, Cooking on the Weekends.

Outside the worlds of food and photography, Valentina's other passion is her family (including her two young boys, her husband and her puppy, Maple.)

To learn more about Valentina and where her work has been featured, visit her About page at Cooking On The Weekends.